A boy of just 9 years old received medical attention for a case that astonished the healthcare team: his digestive tract contained a collection of objects as varied as pencils, toothpicks, cotton swabs, plastic bags, threads, and cables. In total, the items removed weighed more than half a kilo.
The case was documented in a report published in 2021 in the medical journal Annals of Medicine and Surgery, under the title A stomach like a utility room (“A stomach like a tool room”). The clinical images included in the article show the extent of the discovery and the objects recovered during treatment.
Doctors first tried to remove them by endoscopy, a procedure that allows access to the digestive tract through the mouth without making an abdominal incision. However, the number of objects and the way they were grouped made removal difficult, so the team had to resort to surgery.
During the procedure, they also found a pencil lodged in the lower part of the esophagus. Despite the presence of sharp objects and the unusual accumulation, the report states that no serious injuries to the digestive tract were detected. The boy’s condition improved, he was discharged from the hospital on the seventh day, and a psychiatric evaluation was recommended to investigate the circumstances of the ingestion.
The case alone does not establish why the child ingested these objects, but it highlights the risks that swallowing non-food items can pose, especially when they accumulate over a prolonged period.
The full report, including images from the examinations and of the objects removed, is available on PubMed Central.